Hometown Glory
by Zaviarah
Summary: The road to recovery has begun. With a new outlook on life, new relationship, and new well.. everything. How will Ana and Christian survive outside of their 'hospital bubble'. This is the sequel to "How to Save a Life".
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

 **I'm glad to see that so many of you are just as excited about this story continuing as I am.**

 **In the last chapter of** ** _How to Save a Life_** **we learned a little bit more about Ana's past and her character. I will let you know that this story is AU aka 'alternate universe'. In fanfic code, that means they are very different from the original Trilogy. In this particular story, there is no Jack Hyde, Elena and Christian's situation is much different and some of the characters may not act how you would expect them to based on the books. Also, please note that the rating has changed to M due to later chapters (I mean this is Fifty Shades after all *wink wink*).**

 **With** ** _'How to Save a Life',_** **Each chapter was based on (or accompanied by) a song. This time around, I will be using some of my favorite quotes from different forms.**

 **Also, a lot of you mentioned Christian taking Ana to Aspen for a while but as Christian said in the last chapter, they won't hide anymore. Also, Ana's recovery is just starting and it's safer to stay home right now, I hope you all understand. What else would you like to see happen in this story? I am open to** **suggestions.**

 **That being said..**

 _ **Happy Reading**_

 _ **-**_ **Ari**

* * *

 _Chapter 1_

* * *

 _"_ _Everybody asks why I started at the end and worked back to the beginning, the reason is simple, I couldn't understand the beginning until I had reached the end. There were too many pieces of the puzzle missing, too much you would never tell…"_

* * *

 **Anastasia POV**

"Why do you keep staring at me?" I ask jokingly. Christian got ready before me and has been watching me throughout this whole process. I now have everything on except for my wig.

"Well, your just so beautiful I can't help it." He smirks.

 _Swoon._ Man, I love this man. He always knows exactly what to say. Admittedly, I'm really nervous right now. This is practically like starting a new life.

I remember riding by some of these things on my way to the hospital and thinking I might never see them again. Yes, nearly two months later, here I am sitting in the car with my husband and on the road to recovery.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"You know, if you keep that up you're going to actually have to carry pennies around." i smirk. "I'm just really glad to be out of there."

"I am too." He raises my hand that he is holding and kisses the finger with my rings on it. The ride to Escala, where Christian tells me he lives is bathed in a comfortable silence.

We're driving through downtown Seattle and as I'm looking up, I notice that we're going under one of the buildings.

"Are we here?"

"Yup. This is the underground car park. I own this bay so this is where all our vehicles are."

"You own all these cars?"

"No, we own all these cars."

"Wow." I say overwhelmed. There are at least like 15 cars here and I'm sure they're all really expensive. _What have I gotten myself in to?_

"You ready?" he looks at me with a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.

"Yeah.." I say trying to take it all in. I'm out of the hospital, in the car (that's being driven by security) with my husband in one of the various parking bays he owns and about to go to the new place I will call home.

Christian must sense my anxiety because he holds my hand and squeezes reassuringly. I give him a small nod and he signals for Taylor to open the doors.

We walk hand and hand to the elevator while Taylor unloads my bags. We step in to the elevator and I look back but it seems Taylor has disappeared.

"Staff elevators.." Christian states plainly.

"Oh.." Right he has staff.. well _we_ have staff. I nod and step back in to the elevator to allow the doors to close. This might take some serious getting used to.

Once the doors close Christian hits some button that brings up a pad where he inputs a code. "I will give you all the codes you need to access the different places in here. They change frequently and when they do, Taylor will let you know."

I just nod my head a little overwhelmed. As the elevator cruises to a stop Christian looks over at me and smiles. "You ready?"

"Yeah." I say although it sadly came out about as confident as I feel which isn't much.

The elevator doors open to the foyer that I saw in the pictures. There's a beautiful bouquet of chamomile flowers in a face on top of the table. It's sweet that he remembered. I walk in to the main area and stop in my tracks. This place is completely different from what I remember it to be. The cold white that stood out in the pictures is now a soft cream on the walls. I walk further in to the area in a daze. Once I can see the kitchen I notice a cute backsplash that brings life to the place.

"Big improvements don't you think?" Ray says as he comes over to where I'm standing. I didn't even see him here at all which is weird. I wonder it he's been here the entire time.

"Hi daddy."

Ray uncharacteristically pulls me in to a hug. "I'm glad to see you home baby." he whispers. I can hear the emotion in his voice and it takes all my strength not to get choked up too.

"I'm glad to be out daddy."

"So what do you think of the place? Your husband there did it up real nice these past couple of days."

"I thought it looked different." I say looking over at Christian who has a shy smile on his face.

"I thought you've had enough time looking at white walls."

I laugh at his statement out of gratuity. I'm really touched that he would change this whole place around just for me. When we talked about it and he said he would talk to Elliot, I never imagined him doing this.

"So when do I get a tour?" I ask excitedly. If my short-term memory is anything like Dr. Hamburg described, I'll probably need a tour everyday for a while but I still want to see everything while I still have the energy.

"You kids have fun. I'm gonna go pick up breakfast. IHOP okay with you Annie?"

"Mmm, yes."

"I'll be back." He says stepping in to the elevator.

Well walk throughout the apartment. This place is even bigger than I originally thought. Besides the huge kitchen, dining area and living room, there's a TV room, four guest rooms, our master bedroom.. The list goes on and on not even including the security offices and the staff quarters. We're now walking down the hallway coming back from the last room on the second floor.

"So what do you think? Honestly. Anything you don't like we can get Elliot to change." He rushes out.

I walk up to him keeping my face as impassive as possible then I take his face in to my hands and stare right in his eyes and gives him a peck on the lips. "I love it because you did it for me."

He releases a breath that he was holding and gives a genuine smile. "I'm glad you like it. And I have one more room to show you." He says really excitedly. He pulls me along to a door at the top of the stairs that we passed. These doors are double doors - white with a beautiful pattern in the door. There's a lock with a very antique looking doorknob. He motions for me to open the door so I do.

"Uhmmm.. What is this?"

"This is your room. You can do whatever you want to it. I was going to make it a library at first but then I thought you should really just have a room for you.. I guess.."

"Oh.. Wow! Thank you! And a library sounds great. Oh! The possibilities!" I say getting excited. "-wait, what was this room before? What did you do, just get rid of whatever was in here for me? That's insane. There must've been something in here before." I say looking around at the large white room. The walls have a nice 'new paint' glossy type finish and the floors are a light wood, almost gray looking color.

"Yes," he starts scratching the back of this head, "I didn't really get rid- I just- it's hard to explain but what used to be in this room is-" he lets out a large breath "can we just discuss this another time?"

What the Hell just happened? And what used to be in this room? Is this how it's going to be?

"I'm back." I hear my dad yell from somewhere downstairs.

I walk past Christian and go downstairs without saying another word.

* * *

 **Trouble in paradise already?**

 **Thanks for reading!** ** _Please review, comment, ask questions, etc._**


	2. Chapter 2

"So many believe that it is love that grows, but it is the knowing that grows and love simply expands to contain it."

― Wm. Paul Young, The Shack

* * *

 **Still Friday August 13.**

* * *

 **Still Anastasia POV**

* * *

"Fancy place isn't it?" My dad quips when he sees me come downstairs. After his business took off I knew he had money but we never exhibited it much; we're quite simple people.

"Yeah, a lot different than the pictures."

"That's for sure. I met that brother-in-law of yours. Seems like a nice young man and your husband even let me design my own room."

Speak of my husband here he comes down the stairs. "Really? I didn't know that. That was very sweet of you." I say giving him a peck on the cheek once he reaches me. He looks bewildered probably still reeling from the conversation we started to have upstairs.

We eat our breakfast in enjoyable silence with comfortable conversation flowing here and there. This is the first time I have seen my dad and Christian together for an extended period of time. I'm really grateful that they get along; I wouldn't say that if they didn't that things wouldn't work between Christian and I, but it would definitely make things a lot more complicated for all of us.

"Why don't I clear this all up and you show Ana your room." Christian suggests.

Daddy and I make our way up to his room. He wasn't kidding when he said he designed his whole room. This room looks nothing like the others at all. Because he's on this side of the hallway, he has a nice large window in his room with a beautiful view of the city. There's a desk with a Mac right under the window with a nice comfy arm chair. His bed and other furniture have a nice woody rustic feel to them and although the walls and carpet are still white, you can tell this is Ray's room. To fill the voids on the wall he has some momentous from my childhood all along the walls a long with some of the things I would see in his office at home. It's comforting to know that he has had a home away from home all this time instead of staying in some hotel and the notion makes me fall in love with my husband even more.

"This looks like your room." I joke with my dad after my musings.

"I'm glad you think so." He smiles but then his expression turns serious before he goes to close the door. "Now, baby girl, I don't think you fully understand how powerful and popular your husband is but I do and I know well enough that there are some sickos out there who live on that." Unconsciously I release a breath; I thought this would be a talk about how he doesn't really like Christian or something like that but it's just another security talk. "I've talked with his main man Taylor and so I have a gun in here." He goes to a secret hiding place and reveals a lock box. "Your husband doesn't know but Taylor does. I've had it registered to you and only Taylor know it's in here so it's safe as only he, I, and you will have a key to get in this room. The code to the box is our special day and that information stays between us. It's fully loaded and ready to go but I hope you will never need it."

"Okay, thanks for letting me know dad and I promise I will be careful. You're right I don't really know how powerful Christian is but I have a feeling I will sooner than later."

"I want you to listen to Taylor and his security team at all times do you hear me? They have your best interest when I'm not around."

"I understand Daddy."

"Okay." He says putting away the box. "Now that that's over, I think you've got a good man out there." He says wrapping his arm around my shoulder and walking us towards the door. "I've spent a lot of time with him and gotten to know him and his staff around here and I trust them with you. That doesn't mean you can't come to me too though." He says as we step out of he room.

"Of course. Thank you for being here and all your support." I say stopping us to wrap my hands around his waist to give him a hug. He replies by hugging me back harder and kissing the top of my head.

"Always Annie." He says kissing me one more time as we walk towards the steps.

About a fourth of the way down my phone starts ringing so I reach in to my pocket to check who it is. I see that it's Kate and motion to my dad that I'll be down in a few. I go in to the mystery room that is now my room to take the call.

"Hey, Kate."

"Hey! Are you all moved in yet?" She asks. I told Kate that I was finally moving back but that I was moving in to a new place today. _Not a complete lie and a good way to slowly ease out of my lies from the past few months._ I rationalize to myself.

"Yep, all moved in. I can't wait until you come visit, Kate there is.. Soo much I have to tell you."

"Why can't you just tell me over the phone?"

"It's complicated.. And I'd rather just see you in person when I do it all."

She pauses to think it over. "If you say so. And don't fret my young bee, you won't have to wait much longer. Once you told me you were moving I've been hounding my editor about possible things I could do in Seattle. I finally managed to find something of interest to him and I tried to get it for this weekend but it wouldn't work because blah blah blah. Anyway, I'll be flying in this Friday and you better be at the airport waiting for me!" She demands softly.

"Of course I'll be there to pick you up Kate. I'm so excited!" I am but as soon as the words left my mouth the anxiety of what she might think of this whole thing and all my lying to her starts to creep up so instead I try to deflect "So what's you're assignment? Maybe I can help?"

She goes on to tell me about...

"Sorry, that was Kate. She'll be coming to town next weekend." I say excitedly. Both men have a look of trepidation on their faces and I know they both want to address the elephant in the room. "I'm going to tell her everything. No more hiding." I chant. I'm sick of hiding and now that I feel I can live again, I have no intention to.

"Speaking of telling the truth," Ray starts "When are you going to tell your family?" He asks Christian. I think secretly some part of him blames my secretiveness on Christian but that's really far from the truth.

"Actually, we're having them for dinner on Sunday. You're still going to be here right?"

From the right smile on Rays face I already know he answer. "No sweet pea, I have a big presentation for a new client on Monday so I'll probably be heading out right before they arrive."

"But I'm cooking." I chime trying to convince Ray to stay. Although I've seen him a lot more than I usually would have since my diagnosis, it's been confined to the hospital.

"Tempting and I wish I could stay but I can't." He says resigned. "I was going to come back next weekend but since Kate-"

"Why don't I plan something for the weekend after next that way you two can spend some time together." Christian says interjecting in to the conversation.

"That sounds like a great idea." Ray says excitedly.

I know I probably sound like some spoiled brat but I'm really gonna miss having my dad around. This whole experience has brought us so much closer together.

Christian must have senses my uneasiness because he goes to his office for the rest of the day which gives Ray and I some time together. We spend most of the day lounging together in his room. We talk about how the jobs been going and how I'm feeling about my recovery and being out of the hospital. We even talk about Christian and how the marriage is going, which is weird. I mean, you never imagine your dad openly talking to you about how much he likes your husband.

"I see the love you two have for each other. Maybe I can find that again someday."

My dad has never really talked about women with me. He dated a few times that I can remember when I was a preteen and in my teen years but I don't think anything ever got serious. I don't even know who his first love was.

"I feel that way sometimes with Maggie but I'm not sure.."

" _Wait. What? Whose Maggie?_ "

"Uh.." I raise my brows at his lack of response.

"Have you been seeing someone?" I ask with a slightly squeaky voice.

"Yes." He responds hesitantly.

"Oh my God! What? When? How long? What's her name?" I fire off questions.

"Woah there! Slow down. Her name is Margaret. I met her through work, she needed security and she called the firm. We've been seeing each other for about three months now."

"Three months! Three months and this is the first I'm hearing about her?" I ask a little angry. My dad and I don't keep secrets from each other.

"Look, I wanted to wait until I thought we were serious and then you got sick and…"

"Dad." I start turning towards him again. "You could've told me. You've been with me all these weekends when you could've been with her."

"But I wanted to be with you. And she understands. I'm sorry baby but I didn't want to put anything else on you." He says tenderly.

"Okay. I'll forgive you, if you tell me about her." I smile at my dad.

He goes on to tell me that she owns her own business in Portland. Apparently she's nice and can cook well. But out of all the things my dad told me, it's apparent that she makes him happy which is all I can ask for.

###

Us three enjoy a lovely dinner together that Christian so graciously heated up. He explained to me that Gail usually has the weekends off and although she insisted on working when I came home, he wanted to give us some time to ourselves. I understood his reasoning but it made me a little sad that I would have to wait to thank the woman who kept me from losing all my weight these past few months. My dad goes up to bed after dinner and it's just Christian and I now in our bedroom for the first time.

This is also the first time I'm in the closet with my new wardrobe. I'm really excited about the things I bought, I just hope I can fit them. And this closet is to die for. It's kind of like a 'his and hers' closet so we both have our own side and there's sort of a wall between us so I can't see his side. I think it will be fun when we're preparing to go out.

"When do you think someone can get to the storage unit to donate the clothes?" I ask stepping in to the bedroom. Christian comes out of his side of the closet right after I ask the question.

"Whenever you want to baby." He says but he seems worlds away.

"What's wrong?" I ask sitting on the edge of the bed.

He sits down next to me and takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry about earlier. I want to tell you and I will just please don't be mad at me." He says sincerely.

* * *

 **Christian POV**

After practically begging for forgiveness, Ana remains remains silent and it truly worries me. A huge part of me wishes I would have just told her everything before and maybe we wouldn't be doing.. whatever we're doing right now.

"I'm not mad.. I just.. I feel like you're keeping things from me. We're supposed to be married.." she pauses. "I'm not mad at you," she says sincerely and with conviction making me believe her. "I guess it just goes to show that we really don't know everything about each other yet." she smiles but theres more she wants to say. I can see it in her eyes.

"What else?" I ask afraid of what her answer will be.

"I don't know. I'm just.. disappointed I guess. You know all of my secrets but now I know you're still keeping something from me."

Well damn. I'm glad she's not mad but her being disappointed seems even worse. I want to tell her but years of therapy have put that so far in the back of my mind and I don't need to dig up old demons.

"That being said, I won't push you to tell me but when you're ready, I'll be here to listen." She smiles at me and then gives me a gentle kiss on the lips.

 _What did I ever do to deserve such a beautiful and understanding wife?_

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please review, comment, ask questions, etc.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

 **A lot of you pointed out that you do not see this story in the updates on the main page. This story is rated M using the fanfic guidelines and the main updates page doesn't show M rated stories; you have to specifically select to see all rated stories.**

 **One guest pointed out that Ana is keeping a secret about the gun in the house. I won't respond to that directly as it might give too much about the later plot away but I will say that there can be many different reasons as to why she didn't bring that up. If you would like a more detailed answer with the risk of spoilers, PM me.**

 **My Author's page has the list of when I will be updating each of my stories so feel free to check it out. Also, this story has a pinterest page: /FanficAri/hometown-glory/**

* * *

"Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love."

-Craig Claiborne

* * *

 **Sunday August 15**

* * *

 **Anastasia POV**

We've had a wonderful weekend so far. Yesterday, we three spent all day together mostly just sitting around, chatting and getting to know each other more. We said we were going to do a fishing trip as soon as I felt up to it and I can't wait!

My dad left yesterday after I insisted he took uhmm.. M.. May..? Maggie? Yea, Maggie out to dinner. I still can't believe that my dad has a girlfriend, and one that he didn't tell me about no less. Although I do understand his reasoning, I still feel bad that I've kept them apart all these weekends. This is another reason I can't wait to tell Christian's family. I'm really starting to realize how my sickness and the decisions Christian and I have inadvertently made because of it. I don't want to feel like I'm hiding any more because for the first time since this started, I'm actually really optimistic.

I'm gonna call Kate.

I slowly climb out of bed careful not to wake Christian. We may not have known each other that long but I know that this has really affected him too and he needs a decent rest. I grab my pants and sweater before going in to the bathroom to do my daily routine. After relieving my bladder, I carefully brush my teeth and am grateful to see that there's no blood. Christian showed me a special drawer that he cleared out for me and he put some scarves in it; he really is sweet. I pick out a scarf with a flower pattern that also has green, which is one of my favorite colors. I secure it by wrapping it around twice and then securing a bow to the right side. Once that is done, I slowly make my way out of the bathroom and give Christian a gentle kiss on the cheek. He mumbles something but then rolls his head and falls back asleep. I grab my phone and head out to the living room. I sit on the one of the overly large white reclining chairs and take a deep breath before dialing her number.

"Oh my God Ana!"

"Hey Kate!" I say with as much enthusiasm as possible. I want to be optimistic but I don't know how she's going to react.

"I was gonna call you today, great minds think alike right? Anyway, my internship is almost done but I have been asking around for a while and long story short, I'm moving back! I got this like really beginner job at Seattle Weekly. It's a small fairly new company but I think it has potential and most of all I can move back to my life. I'll be coming back in two weeks and we have to celebrate!" She sounds so excited.

"Wow, Kate that's great. We relay do have so much to celebrate."

"Yes, Ana, what's been happening in your life? I'm sorry I was just so excited!"

"A lot Kate." I say carefully.

"What's wrong?" She says picking up the uneasiness in my voice.

"Nothing's wrong I don't think but I have a lot to tell you. I think it'll be best though if I tell you in person."

"Okay, Anabee, you're really starting to scare me, do I need to come back sooner? Becaus-"

"No, you enjoy your last weeks in New York. I promise I'm fine now and I will tell you everything when you get back, okay?"

"Okay.. I just pulled up to the office so I gotta go but we'll talk soon okay?"

"Yeah. Love you."

"Love you too babe." And I hang up the phone. I'm glad that she's coming back because I think all that I have to tell her should really be told in person.

I now go in to the kitchen and sit down

While I'm looking through one of the cabinets, I feel a pair of strong hands wrap around me which startles me a little but I know that it's Christian. When he touches me it feels like my body comes alive.

"Shoo" I wave my hands at him. "I got this. I want to do this, you go do something."

He smiles at me before finally conceding and stepping away giving me a chaste kiss. "I'll be in my study."

Once he leaves I get back to my task. I've been looking through each of these cabinets every time because I can't remember where something is after I don't see it. _Ugh,_ this is frustrating. I finally come up with a plan that may help me out. After taking a journey through this floor of the apartment, I finally find Christian's study. I slightly knock before stepping inside.

"Hello Beautiful."

"Hello Handsome."

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit." He jokingly asks as I go to sit in his lap. I lean in to give him a real good morning kiss that starts off innocent enough but as he goes to break it off I my hands grab the back of his neck to pull him closer and accidentally scratch him but that seems to spur him on as he audibly growls and puts his hands on my waist squeezing just a little bit. The kiss slowly comes to a stop and we break apart breathing heavily.

"Do you have any sticky notes?" I ask. He laughs a fully belly laugh after my innocent question after our not so innocent make out section.

"Yes, I do."

"Can I have a few?" He juts his head pointing towards the stack on his desk. I hop off his lap and grab a bunch of notes. "Thank you!" I say happy with my plan. Before leaving the room I turn around and ask him if his family likes southern food which he replies that he's sure they will like anything that I make.

I decide to stick with the meal I already thought of and make my way back to the kitchen. I use the sticky notes to put labels on the inside of the drawers and cabinets so I won't have to look through them anymore; they are generally very organized but I think I need the little bit extra help. Once I'm done with that I get the ingredients I need for my first dish.

While the chicken and vegetables starting on the stove, I start to heat up a meal that Gail has left us and get Christian from his study. We eat in mostly comfortable silence; I tell him what we will be eating tonight and he tells me about a company he's been looking in to all day as well as answering the question of how I should dress. I really want to make a good impression on his family; much like I wanted Ray and him to get along, I want to get along with his family.

—

I've been cooking for some time and I decide that it's time to get the ingredients for the biscuits and desserts so I go in to the pantry. While looking around I hear a female voice call out for Gail. I don't know what to do so I'm frozen to the spot and kind of freaking out because I have no idea who that is. As I brave myself to come out of the pantry, I hear Christian's voice.

"Mom?" He asks.

Okay, now I know who it is but it doesn't make me feel any better. My husbands mother, who doesn't even know I exist, is currently just a few feet away from me and I look like absolute crap. I don't have any makeup on, my wig isn't on, shit, I barely have any clothes on.

"Hi, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I got off and I had a little while before I needed to go home so I thought I'd help Gail with the cooking. You know you've never had us over and I don't want Gail to be overwhelmed. What is she cooking? It smells delicious."

While she was talking I figured I should still gather everything needed to finish up the meal. As I'm walking out I hear Christian say, "Actually Gail isn't cooking, Ana is."

"And who is Ana?"

"I am." I say putting the things down on the counter. I wipe my hands on the side of my bodysuit before going to shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you ma'am." Wow, even I sound nervous to myself. Christian senses this because he puts his arm across my shoulder and pulls me close to him; this should probably make me more uncomfortable but it makes me feel safer.

I see Mrs. Grey looking between us two; me in practically nothing probably looking like an alien and Christian still in his t-shirt and pajama pants; but she doesn't say anything.

"Oh.. okay, Well I guess I will see you two later." she says before walking away. Christian looks at me before walking after her.

 _Great._ To keep my mind busy I just go straight back to cooking. Mostly everything is already done so I lower the flame on the greens and corn and then pop the chicken in the oven for it to finish cooking a little more.

Christian comes back in to the kitchen and gives me a reassuring smile but I don't feel so confident.

"Let me help with something. You've been slaving away all day in here."

"I don't mind, I always loved cooking."

"I still want to help with something." he says while reaching for one of the slices of apple I have cut but I swot his hand away and he puts playfully.

"No taste testing, but you _can_ mix up the apples to make the filling."

"Yes ma'am." He salutes me making me smile. I instruct him on how to fill the mini pies without major spills or messes and he pops them in to the oven before I tell him to go off to wash up for dinner.

While he is washing up I finish up the batter for the biscuits but leave them on the counter because I want them to be fresh and hot when served. I take the chicken out of the oven and put the dish in the warmer before starting to put everything that I used away and wiping everything down. Christian comes back in looking sexy as ever in his dress pants and shirt.

"You go, I'll finish up here."

"Are you sure?" I remember him telling me he can't cook.

"Sure." He answers shaking his head but frowning.

"Okay.. everything is almost done so take the apple pie sticks out in about 15 minutes and if they let you know they're on their way put the biscuits in the oven. I should be done before they are ready to come out." I kiss him chastely and scurry away only turning back to look at him once.

I take a quick but much needed shower to relax my muscles, clam my nerves, and get this food smell off of me. I go in to the closet and sit at the vanity that Christian had installed for me. I start the makeup process that I sort of crafted over my months in the hospital. I have my foundation, concealer, mascara, eyeliner, eyebrow pencil, eyelashes and eyeshadow. I know, it sounds like a lot but its what I have to use to look normal until I get some of my color and hair back. Even with all the products I decide to keep my makeup very natural but add a little pink eyeshadow to match the color of my nails and my tinted lip balm.

Going in to the regular part of the closet, I pick one of my casual-but-could-be-dressy dress with an abstract print that will match both Christian and my makeup. I pair it with a simple pair of black flats and then go back over to my vanity to put my wig on. I massage my head a little before because putting it on is a little irritating and then put the cap on (since my hair isn't long enough to not need to use one) and then put on my wig situating it to make sure that is is on snug and that it looks natural. I like the wig I chose and I'm glad it actually came out the way I wanted it. It looks like my natural hair whenever I would get it done.

I take one last look in the full length mirror and see Christian appear behind me so I turn around.

"Well, you look very different."

"Good different or bad different?"

"Well, I miss my beautiful wife who is hiding behind all of this but I still love the person you are." I turn in to an absolute pile of mush and give him a hug and a chaste kiss.

"Everyone is here by the way."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me? How are the biscuits?"

"They're fine. I took them out when I noticed that they were starting to golden. Yes, I know a little something." He smirks. "Now, I'm sure my brother and sister have no idea you are here but I think my mom tipped my dad off."

I take a breath supposed to be cleansing breath but it doesn't really help my nervousness and I'm sure anyone can read it all over my face.

"Hey, hey. They are going to love you. They're going to get to know you and just like we discussed if our marriage or your sickness come up, we will tell them right." I can only nod my head. "Okay. Now close your eyes." _I do._ "And breathe." I take another breath and this time it actually helps a little.

"Now come on, I told them I just had to go get something." I smile at his little joke.

He takes my hand as we walk out of the bedroom and kisses my hand right before we get to the opening where you can see the rest of the apartment. His family is in a circle talking with each other and don't notice us until Christian clears his throat.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I'm thinking about making keeping this story mostly in Ana's POV, any thoughts?**

 **Also, I'm not going to torture you much longer. The family will meet Ana in the next chapter.**

 **As always, Thanks for reading!** ** _Please review, comment, ask questions, etc._**


	4. Chapter 4

"Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving."

-James E. Faust

* * *

 **Christian POV**

I clear my throat and everyone turns around towards me. I feel Ana grip my hand tighter and I squeeze back a little to give her some reassurance.

"Everyone, this is Ana. Ana this is my family." I look at Mia first, she would usually have started babbling or at least made some kind of noise by now but she is silent with wide eyes. Elliot has his eyes squinted like he's trying to figure out what's going on and my mom and dad share a side glance with each other but I'm not sure what to make of it.

"Hi it's nice to meet you all."

"Ana has made us all dinner so why don't we go enjoy..." Everyone nods their head and starts moving towards the dining room. "You all sit down and Ana and I will go grab the dishes" I offer/tell.

When I head back in to the room I see that my mom and dad have taken the heads of the table, Mia and Elliot have taken one side leaving a side open for Ana and I. I place the tray down with the food items and Ana places the different drink options around the table. I pull out Ana's chair before sitting down myself.

"Oh my God Ana?!" Mia asks once Ana sits down and she gets a good look at her.

"Yes?" Ana replies cautiously.

"Gala Ana?" Ana nods her head. "Oh my God! I thought that was you. I was looking for you! Did you get the photos? Where have you been? You look so different? What have you been up to? Wait, what's going on between you two?" Mia looks between us and then around the table. Everyone else is confused by Mia's outbursts. She huffs. "Ana is the girl I bought to Coping Together, remember?"

"It's okay if you don't remember I was really quiet that night."

""Of course we remember you. I remember Christian made a record in paying for your dance." Mu mother speaks up in a tone that I am not familiar with.

"Yes, it was a lot of money but it was well worth it." I say looking at Ana who blushes slightly.

"I'm sorry to cut the reminiscing but can we eat, this looks delicious?" Elliot asks.

"Yes, please, I hope you all like it but if not I'm sure we can get something else."

Elliot digs right in and everyone else follows making their plates. I make Ana's plate for her first and then make mine. I couldn't get any tastes while she was making it so this is the first time I will try anything and the first time I will have anything that she cooked since our weekend in California.

Everyone lets out groans reveling in the deliciousness of the meal.

"I take it you all like it?" Ana asks cautiously. I notice that she still hasn't even reached towards her food yet.

"Are you kidding? This is amazing. You made this all yourself?" Elliot asks with a mouthful of biscuit. I see Ana relax a bit.

"Manners." My mother scolds.

"Yes, although Christian did help with desert."

"Where'd you learn to cook?"

"All over. My dad was in the military so I was kind of an Army Brat but we lived on family friendly bases so I learned from the people in the neighborhood."

"Are you going to eat?" I wisher to Ana.

"Oh, yeah, sorry I guess I was just nervous but I doubt I will eat all of this." She says finally picking up her fork.

"Anything you don't finish I will, okay?"

"Okay."

"So, tell us more about yourself. You pretty much disappeared after the dance." Mia asks.

"Umm. Well, I'm 23. I- I don't know what do you want to know?"

"What do you do?"

"As far as work, I'm currently unemployed but I'm thinking about joining some charities or something so I'm not really just wasting my time." She says thoughtfully. Maybe she can ask my mom for some recommendations.

"That's very kind of you." My father notes.

Dinner keeps going with idle chatter and getting to know each other until Ana brings goes to get the pie sticks. "I hope everyone likes apple pie. And Christian helped make these."

"Did you watch him closely?" Elliot asks eying the platter.

"Yes, Elliot, I did. Don't worry they're safe." Everyone lets out a chuckle to my expense and even I manage to crack a smile.

"You know Ana, we could open up a restaurant with all of our culinary skills."

"I don't think I'm that good. I just make comfort food."

"Comfort food is the best food."

"I would eat there." Elliot says with a dramatic slouch indicating he's full.

"Had enough to eat there bro?"

"Oh yeah. You're gonna get fat having this little lady around."

"How exactly are you around?" My mother blatantly asks Ana. I can see that she is a little taken back by that question and I am by my mothers tone. I'm surprised no one has figured it out yet seeing as the rings are on her finger but then again, I have been holding her hand most of the time so unless you're looking for them, you wouldn't know they were there.

"Ahem." I clear my throat. "I guess now is as good a time as any." I start to say and everyone looks at me expectantly. I'm not really sure what they think I'm about to say. "Thank you, Mia, for bringing this incredible woman in my life by inviting her to the coping together Gala. We have been together almost since then" I hear a large gasp form Mia, "It hasn't been easy but we are here today as husband and wife."

It takes a second for the information to kick in but when it does Mia lets out a shattering squeak/scream combination.

"Your married?! You didn't tell me?! Where was the wedding" she gasps, "No where is the ring?!" Mia comes barreling over to the empty seat next to Ana and pulls her hand. "Wow. Bro! Oh my God, am I dreaming? Is this real? This is the most beautiful ring like evver!"

I look to my brother who has his jaw on the floor but he recovers when he sees me looking. "Is this for real?"

"Absolutely." He comes over to me and I stand. He shakes my hand first and then pulls me in to an awkward bear hug and says congratulations to me.

I look over to my mom and dad. My mom looks tense and I can't really read my dad right now.

"Can we speak to you?" My mother asks tensely before walking out of the room not waiting for my reply. My father looks at me before getting up and following my mother. I kiss Ana gently on her temple before following after my parents.

I see my study door open and walk in to see my father seated with a hard expression and my mother pacing the floor.

"Really, Christian?" my mother speaks as soon as I close the door.

"Grace." My father

I'm taken back by her question and don't really know how to respond so I just keep standing near the door. Is she upset with me for keeping Ana a secret or that I got marr-

"No, Cary, I will not allow for another woman to weasel her way in to my sons life and take advantage of him."

This statement snaps me out of my thinking and takes me completely by surprise.

"Mom, this isn't the same thing." I try to state as calmly as possible.

"Oh really? Some stranger off the street happens to meet Mia and a few months later you two get married? That's suspicious, don't you think?"

"No-"

"I mean does she even have a job? What kind of family does she come from? Do you know?"

"Yes, I know. My wife has a very small but reputable family. And even if she didn't I would love her all the same." I say truthfully. I didn't even put together that her dads company was what it was or find out that she was technically a millionaire until just a short time ago.

"Love?" My mother asks incredulously.

"Yes, love. We married because we love each other." I say starting to get riled up at her assumptions regarding my relationship but reining it in because of my respect for her.

She walks over to me slowly as if walking to a small animal or child before placing her hand on my cheek in a gesture that should have been comforting but instead has me on edge. "You don't know what love is yet." She says simply.

I pull away from her and back up to put some space between us. "You don't even know Ana. That woman sitting in there is one of the strongest people I have ever met. I love you mom, I do and on some level I can understand your reasoning for acting like this but I will not just stand here while you criticize my wife and the love we have for each other." I say angrily and slightly raising my voice at the end. "And what about you dad?" I look over to my father who has been uncharacteristically silent; I honestly expected a wrath from him and not my mother. He opens his mouth to say something a few times but nothing comes out. "You guys just need to get to know her. She's an amazing woman." I smile slightly just thinking about her. "She is one of the kindest people ever, always thinking about others when she has the right to be worried about herself, she's smart and nice-"

"Yeah, sure, she seems like a nice girl but you know what I thought _that woman_ was nice too and apparently, I was wrong!" she practically screams.

This is getting nowhere. I can understand to a degree why she feels the way she does but she doesn't understand and I don't think she's making an effort to do so. I need to get out of here before this turns in to an all out screaming match. If she doesn't want to understand right now, that means she won't and there's no reason for me to even be standing here right now.

I storm out of the study and hear my dad start to talk to my mother. I don't even have words for how I feel right now but betrayed, hurt, and disappointed come close.

Ana and my siblings, who have now taken residence in the living room, look up when they see me come in and Ana stands probably sensing my tenseness. By the time she has stood up fully, I cup her head in my hands and kiss her with all I have. Her hands rest on my chest but she isn't pushing me away so I keep kissing until I hear my mother clear her throat behind me and I reluctantly pull away.

Ana looks down shyly taking notice of all the other people on the room now. I turn towards my parents still seething slightly. I see my mother staring daggers at Ana and instinctively put Ana behind me slightly.

"I think it's a good time we head out." My father says. "It was really lovely to meet you Anastasia."

"Please it's Ana. It was really nice to meet you as well." She says politely looking at both my parents. I'm not sure if she is aware of the look my mother is giving her but if she is, she doesn't show it.

"Elliot. Mia. Are you coming?"

I look behind me to my siblings who are now standing and can tell that they sense something is going on here.

"No, I want to stay and get to know Ana" Mia practically whines, "Elliot you can take me home right?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna stay too so that's fine."

I look back towards my mother, whose obviously not happy with their decision, and she turns to go to the elevator.

"I guess that's my cue" my father tries to joke. "again, it was great meeting you and congratulations. I'm happy for you both." My father says with a smile and a pat of the arm before leaving. I'm still not sure where he stands so I don't know if he was being genuine or not but it was still nice to hear.

I turn towards Ana and give her one more chaste kiss before sitting down and slightly pulling Ana down with me. She rests her legs on mine and looks up at me with concern. I try to smile but I'm sure it domes out strained as she sighs and puts her head on my shoulder.

Elliot and Mia are still standing and staring at us.

"Oh my god! You guys are sooo cute! I want to know everything! Obviously you two met at the gala but what happened after that?" Mia asks perching herself across from us.

Somehow Elliot managed to sneak off and is now back with a plate of left over apple pies. "Mia stop badgering them. You gotta ask the important questions." He says seriously like he's scolding a new reporter. "Watch and learn. Ana would you consider leaving my brother to marry me and cook for me?" He states deadpan and I glare at him.

"Hmm.." Ana seems to mull over the idea. "As tempting as that sounds Elliot, I love your brother too much to leave him."

"Awe damn."

"Now how did you two meet?" I ask Ana and Mia.

"Well it was my last weekend of freedom and I decided to live it up. So, I went to Neimans and was trying on dresses when Mia commented o. The dress I was wearing."

"Yeah, and then you called rushing me about something that day and right before I left I remembered Derrick ditched me and since Ana here didn't say she had anything to do, I invited her." Mia smiles.

"Well thank you, Mia. As I said before, you're the reason Ana and I met and I couldn't be more grateful."

"Awe." Mia says dramatically fanning her eyes with her hand.

"Yeah, who would have though CEO Christian Grey had a soft side." Elliot smirks.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Thanks for the responses to my last question. I took all of the responses in to consideration and I won't make a POV decision now but I will let you know that they won't jump around as much as I feel they have so far.**

 **Also, don't kill me. I love Grace, I really do but I thought that it would be fun to write her a different way than what I'm used to, so I did.**

 **Thanks for reading!** ** _Please review, comment, ask questions, etc._**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sunday Night**

 **Carrick POV**

The elevator ride to the garage is by far one of the longest we've ever taken. Grace and I are as far apart as possible in the little confines of this cart and for me, it's still not enough space.

* * *

 **Monday, August 16**

 **Anastasia POV**

 **12:38 AM**

I open my eyes to complete darkness. I couldn't have slept that long and I honestly still feel really tired to I close my eyes and try to go back to sleep.

 **1:30 AM**

I tried, I really did but I still can't sleep. I decide against tossing and turning and the possibility of waking Christian up and slowly get out of bed. I follow the recess lights and stroll through the hallway until I reach the floor to ceiling windows. It's still pitch black almost everywhere but you can still see the lights twinkling in the city below. It's a wonderful view and very calming. Calmness is something I really need right now. I want to say that I am really happy about being out of the hospital but the real fact is I'm sick, and I always will be, and I'm scared.

Before all this I was indifferent to hospitals but now I can definitely say that I hate them. I think I will always worry if one day I walk in for treatment or a checkup and they'll say it's back and I have to be admitted again.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Christian asks in a raspy sleepy voice.

"What are you doing up?" I ask avoiding the question. He doesn't need to worry about me worrying; I know he already worries enough.

"The bed got cold. But not as cold as it is out here." He says wrapping a nice warm blanket around me and sitting on the floor beside me. "So what were you thinking about?"

"Today.. I don't want to go back." I say solemnly.

"I know. Trust me, if I never had to see the inside of that hospital again, I wouldn't complain. But the truth is, my mom works there, you need treatment, we might get sick and have to get a check up, have kids-" He shrugs shyly.

"You want to have kids?"

"I've thought about it and I wouldn't mind. But that's beside the point. You don't have to be afraid of the hospital. I promise I won't let them keep you and someone will always be with you."

He's right. I shouldn't be afraid of hospitals. "You're right."

"Lets try to get some sleep."

 **7:30 AM**

 _Wanda:_ "It'll basically just be like a few hours in the hospital. You sit in a big chair for a couple of hours with a drip going in to your port. But this time you get to go home."

 _Ana:_ "Yay?"

 _Wanda:_ "Oh, come on. When the chemo is over, you get to go home to your fancy apartment and gorgeous husband."

 _Ana:_ "Actually, he has to go in to work for a bit after. If I feel up to it, I think I'm gonna go in and where he works."

 _Wanda:_ "I have to admit I googled it and the outside looks amazing, I want pictures! And eat some crackers in the car and drink water while. It'll help with any nausea you might have. Trust me, you want the least amount of drugs possible."

 _Ana:_ "Thanks, I'm already looking for the crackers now."

 _Wanda:_ "Did you check the pantry? I know you have one."

 _Ana:_ "Yes, I forgot." I snap my fingers and go around the wall to the pantry.

 _Wanda:_ "No more days of snacks in the drawers." She laughs.

 _Ana:_ "Oh, I will still be putting them in the drawers. I just have to find everything first. I think Gail starts again this afternoon so hopefully she can help out. When I made dinner yesterday, I had to label the drawers and cabinets with index cards."

 _Wanda:_ "Good ole chemo brain. It wears off. Do some word searches or something, it'll help you focus."

 _Ana:_ "What would I do without you?" I sigh.

 _Wanda:_ "..you'll be okay." What is that supposed to mean?

 _Ana:_ "What is—"

"Ana?"

"Coming."

 _Ana:_ "That's Christian. It's probably time to go. Uh— I'll call you later okay?"

 _Wanda:_ "Okay. Have a good round. Love you."

 _Ana:_ "I love you too."

"Crackers?"

"Wanda says they might help with any nausea."

Christian nods. "How is she?"

"I don't know."

Christian holds out my jacket so that I can put it on. It may only be the middle of August but I still get cold easily, something we talked about before and why the heat is on in the apartment. Plus with my immune system still low, I can't afford to get sick.

"How are you?"

"I feel better after last night so, thank you. But I'm still a little nervous and really just want to get this over with." I say resting my head on his shoulder once we're in the elevator.

The ride to the hospital doesn't take long and soon enough we are back in Dr. Hamburgs office.

"Goodmorning. Mr. Grey, Ana."

"Hi." I say meekly.

"I know you don't want to be here, Ana. But—"

"I know." I say and shake my head. I have to think positive, as my husband would say. "So how does this work?"

"Well, we will be giving you high doses of cytarabine through your port. We'll change the doses over time until we're sure that all the cancerous cells are gone. The chemo itself is very much like when you were in the hospital. Two weeks of chemo, about four hours a day. Then, 2 weeks of rest- we'll check on you halfway between to make sure everything is how it should be.. I know we started to talk about bone marrow transplants in the past but now we need to get serious about it."

I feel Christian tense up next to me knowing where this conversation is heading.

"There's a 40% chance that you could relapse. You didn't respond well to your first chemo treatment which puts in you in a high risk category if your chemo were to come back. Your best chance is to do a bone marrow transplant."

"What does that involve?" Christian is the first to respond.

"Well, we find a donor. That donor gives us cells from their bone marrow. Bone marrow is what generates your blood cells. Essentially, with your type of cancer, your bone marrow makes the wrong cells and those cells keep dividing and crowd your blood. The normal cells can't do their job. With the transplant, we give you those new cells and they find their way to your bone marrow replacing the ones that are doing it wrong. I would like for you to do this as soon as possible and find a donor. Or, we can wait, until your bone marrow is corrected and harvest some of that."

"Wow." I say a little overwhelmed. "I know we talked about this but.." I say shaking my head.

"I know it's a lot to think about and we aren't there yet. But I want you to think about it, the two of you talk it over and you have my number if you have any questions."

Christian reaches over and gives my hand a squeeze for support.

"Okay. Thanks for explaining it in detail." I smile wryly.

"Are you ready for your chemo?"

"As ready as I'll be."

* * *

 ** _Author's Note: I've had this chapter planned out for so long but writing it has been difficult. I hope you liked it. there will be more to deal with Carrick and Grace in the next chapter._**

 ** _On another note: I've had some people ask me about making a Facebook page so.. I did! The page name is_** **Zaviarah** ** _and the profile pic is the same as my avatar on here. The page will have sneak peaks, updates on progress of stories, polls, etc. to keep you all updated. As always, feel free to contact me (review, PM, email, message, etc.) if you have any questions or suggestions._**

 ** _Thanks for reading!_**

 ** _-Ari_**


	6. Chapter 6

_"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have" – Cayla Mills_

* * *

 **Christian POV**

 **9:00 am**

 _"_ We have a few rooms like this, all the same, it's early now so it might just be you two for a while. It's rarely full though so you should always have a spot Mr. Grey. It's early so it will probably just be you for a while. I'll send a nurse in to get you started." Dr. Hamburg says with a smile before leaving the room.

Ana looks around before plopping down in a seat.

I choose to take the seat next to her. "These chair are comfortable."

"Yeah, they are. We should get one for the apartment." That's not a- "Hey, I was just joking."

"You know me so well." I lean over and kiss her.

"I'm learning." She smiles at me.

"Oh my God!" We both turn towards the source of the shriek. It's some short lady with bright red hair; judging by her outfit and unfamiliarity, I assume she must be a new nurse.

"You're Christian Grey! Billionaire CEO Christian Grey! Oh my God! What are you doing here?" She happily skips over to stand in front of me completely ignoring the tray she came in with and Ana.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes, something I picked up from Ana, and pinch the bridge of my nose instead. We've been in this hospital for months with no problems - I guess you have more stability when you're an inpatient.

"Ahem." I hear Ana loud clear her throat behind me.

The nurse finally looks behind me and sees Ana.

"What?" The nurse asks rudely. I turn to Ana to see her reaction. She closes her eyes and takes a big breath before speaking.

"Look. I don't know who you think you are but you have no right to ignore me and then talk to me, a patient, like that. It's obvious you don't value your job, or the job you used to have, enough so you can leave now." Taylor appears at the door as the used-to-be nurse stands with her mouth gaping open and closed.

"Who do you-"

"You won't be able to get another job in this city, but if you still want a _chance_ at getting a job in this state, I suggest you leave now." Ana says with a straight face.

The nurse again looks shocked but soon realizes that Ana is dead serious and then she looks horrified and scurries away quickly without looking back at either of us.

I've never seen this side of Ana and I would be lying if I said that my dick- I look back over at Ana not knowing exactly how to react. Honestly, I want to- but I don't know how she would react. I take the chance and reach for the back of her head to pull her in for a passionate kiss.

"What was that for?"

"I don't know. I kind of like bossy jealous Ana."

"I was not jealous!" She says like its the craziest notion in the world. "I just.. don't like other people looking at whats mine." she smirks. "I'm going to go get another nurse."

Ana comes back in with a different nurse who successfully gets her chemo started without as much as a glance my way. As Ana pulls out her iPad, she insists that I should get some work done as we will be here for a while.

 **11:30 am**

Ana's chemo went on for a little under three hours and I was able to get some work done on my laptop but there are still a few things I need to go in to the office to do with Ros. Thankfully, Ana doesn't mind and says that she feels up to do the tour of the building so now I'm just waiting for her to come back down from the children's ward. I was still on a call when Ana had finished and she wanted to go see someone up in the ward.

"You ready?" Ana comes back looking as beautiful as ever. Just looking at her, you would never know the battle she is going through right now and I commend her strength.

"Earth to Christian?" Ana says jokingly.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about how amazing you are." And like on cue she blushes her beautiful shade of pink. "Do you want to eat first and then do the tour? We can pick up something on the way."

"Okay." We start walking so I text Taylor to meet us at the back entrance since that's how we came in and it provides the most protection from possible paparazzi hanging around.

"Have a taste for anything?" I ask

"Not really but I know I should eat something."

"Pasta?" I ask opening her door.

"Okay."

"Taylor, Mile High."

"Do they have a menu online?" Ana asks.

"Yes, and We own the place so they can make anything you like."I pull up the menu on her phone so she can look it over.

"We should get something for Ros. What does she want?"

 _How am I supposed to know?_

"And don't look at me like that. Call her."

I begrudgingly follow my wife's institutions and dial Ros' number.

"About time you called. You need to get your ass over here and sign some paperwork."

"Well hello to you too Ros. I'm having a good morning as well, thanks for asking." I joke. "Do you want something from Canlis?"

"Canlis? Wait- like you would pick something up for me?"

"Yes."

"Did the wife put you up to this? Oh! Is she coming to the office? I rea-"

"Ros do you want something or not?"

"Okay, okay! Can you just get me some artichoke and salsa dip with tortillas."

"Fine. I'll be in in a few hours." I hang up.

"Do you know what you want?" Ana asks me.

"Yes, I'm getting the chicken dumpling soup."

"Mmm that does sound good. I'm sure its not as good as mine but you don't know any better yet. I'll call ahead."

"I'll do it." I say. Being the owner has its perks and when they know it is you, it gets you want faster and quicker. I get connected directly to the chef and get a guarantee that my food will be done within the half hour. I also make sure that my private room is clear.

We make it to the Mile High and quickly get through to my private room. I could tell that the few people we did interact with were surprised to see me with someone, let alone a woman, on my arm but smartly none of them commented.

….

We ate our food mostly in comfortable silence with little conversation in between bites. We got Ros' order to-go and now we are in the elevator. I'm holding Ana's hand and she rests her head on my chest.

"You tired?"

"No." She yawns and then pouts.

"Okay, how about when I'm working, you can take a nap and then do the tour before we go home."

She thinks it over for a bit and then nods her head yes.

We get to the bottom floor and it seems the vultures still haven't caught sight of us which is a good thing. I want the world to know that she's mine but that's not the same as having people harassing her and possibly damaging her recovery; at the moment, I think that the two are mutually exclusive.

I gently nudge Ana who has started to doze of next to me as we approach the building.

She perks up a bit and starts to fix herself up.

"How do I look?"

"Beautiful as always."

"Well.. of course." she blushes. "But do I look like the CEO's wife?"

"Being the CEO's wife, you could be wearing a paper sack and no one would dare question you."

"You are no help.. Okay, I'm ready." she smiles but I can tell she's nervous.

I give her a kiss to try to calm her down and get out of the car. I tap on the window in a way of asking is Ana ready to come out; she taps back.

I open the door and take Ana by the hand. I walk in and see everyone staring but I ignore them and keep walking to the executive elevator. This elevator gets you straight to the 31st floor where my and Ros' offices are along with our assistants.

Once on my floor, I go over to Andreas desk so I can introduce them.

"Andrea." She looks up stunned. "This is my wife Anastasia. She is to be granted access to whatever she want whenever she wants it. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." She says professionally but Ive know Andrea long enough to know that she is stunned.

"It's nice to meet you Andrea." Ana says.

"Likewise Mrs. Grey."

"We'll be in my office. Move any of my meeting to a conference room as my wife will be staying here with me."

"Yes, sir."

We bypass my office and head straight in to the adjoining bedroom through one of the walls.

"You have a bedroom here?" Ana looks at me skeptically.

"When I first started the company, I barely left the building trying to get everything up and running so when finalizing construction I had Elliot put this in here. The kitchen is stocked with some things and there's a full bathroom. It is also a safe room for security purposes."

"Wow."

"You can stay in here or come out in the office. I've moved all meeting to the conference room so you can relax."

"I think I'll take a nap. Once you finish we can take a tour on our way out."

"Sounds like a plan. I had a few things delivered in your size in the drawer. You can press this button when you wake or if you don't remember you can always just call and I'll help."

"Okay."

"I love you." She says walking up to me.

"I love you too." I kiss her gently.

I go out to my office closing the wall behind me. Not a few minutes later, Ros comes through the door unannounced.

"Where's my food Grey?"

"Well good afternoon to you too Ros." I say while handing over her meal.

She continues standing looking around.

"Ros?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you still doing here?"

"Well, where's the wife?"

"I don't recall you ever offering me lunch out of the blue."

"Perhaps I was feeling nice."

"Pfft. Yeah right."

"She's taking a nap. I'll bring her by later when I give her a tour."

"Good! You can sign some of these documents then. Bye."

* * *

 **3:30 pm**

 **Anastasia POV**

I stretch waking up from a much needed nap; I hate that I always feel so tired. I decide to freshen up a bit before going out there again. I'm still really nervous. I like to think I don't care what other people think of me and on some level I don't but on another level, I do want people to like me.

I spend a lot of time in the mirror fixing my wig and makeup to make sure I look _normal_.

I then go to the wall-door combo. I didn't really way attention before and there are a lot of different button on this wall. There's even a screen. I click on one button and suddenly I some speakers come on playing what sounds like Christians voice.

"I don't want to hear it." he says sharply.

I guess that's Christian's office. I don't want to ease drop so I click the button I though I used to turn the speaker on but instead it cracks the door open. I try to stay silent so that maybe I don't interrupt whatever he is doing right now but I guess it doesn't work. Christian pushes the door open.

"Hey baby."

"Hi, I'm sorry. The buttons- and you wer-"

"Hey, don't worry about it." He kisses me. He then runs one of is hands through his hair.

"What's wrong?"

"My dad is out there."

"Oh.. What does he want?" Carrick didn't talk much when we had the family over for dinner but that makes me just as nervous.

"He want to talk. How are you feeling?"

"Im up to it if thats what your asking. And I'm feeling a lot better after my nap." I say making my way to the door. Christian comes out after me and locks it.

"Hello Mr. Grey."

"Please, Anastasia. Call me Carrick. I'm glad your both here."

"What do you want Dad?" Christian says rudely. I give him a pointed stare.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you guys."

"Why don't we talk over here." I start moving towards the couches stationed to the side of the room.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry for not speaking up before. Your mother and I had a long talk last night and I just wanted to let you know that I support you guys. The lawyer side of me can't do anything as you are already married and may not agree with your choices but the father side of me is really proud of you for finding what looks like true love and I'm happy that you're happy. Ana," he turns towards me, "I can see that you make m son truly happy and I want to thank you for that. He's changed in the past few months and I can now see that's thanks to you. I know that I've hurt you but I do hope to get to know you."

I'm stunned. "That is definitely not what I thought you were going to say. I'm shocked but I'm also really glad you told me and now I have a better understanding of where we stand. I look forward to getting to know you as well.. and the rest of your family."

"Thank you for understanding Anastasia. My wife- she- I think she will come around but it might take some time." He looks over at Christian who hasn't said anything yet. "Son?"

"Thanks for being the bigger person and coming here. Ana is the main reason for my changes in the recent months and it means a lot that you care enough to give us a try."

"Will I see you two at brunch this week?"

Christian looks over at me but I just look down. I feel a little more comfortable knowing where I stand with Carrick but I also know where I stand with Mrs. Grey and it is not a good place.

"We will let you know dad."

"I understand.. I think I'm going to go back to the office for a while. Are you two heading out?"

"Yes, I was gonna give Ana a tour first though. I'll call you sometime during the week."

"Alright. Have a good night you two." He says and then walks away.

Christian and I just look at each other.

"That was unexpected." Christian says.

"Yeah.."

"Are you ready for the tour?"

"I guess so."

First we make a stop at Andrea's desk where Christian tells her that his work day is done for today. We make our way down a small hallway and walk right in to another office.

"Oh my God! You're real!" A tall redhead shrieks.

"Ros, this is my wife Anastasia. Anastasia, this is Ros."

"The infamous Ros! It's great to finally meet you." I hold out my hand for her to shake but she instead pulls me in to a fierce hug. She pulls back and look me up and down.

"You know if you ever get tired of pretty boy over there-"

"Don't even finish that sentence Ros or both Gwen and I will have you on your ass."

"You get the gist." She laughs and playfully winks at me.

"Did you like your lunch."

"It was delicious thank you Anastasia."

"Please, call me Ana."

"Okay, that's enough chit chat, we have a whole building to go through."

"Fine, fine, Mr. Grumpy pants. I'll see you around Ana."

"Bye Ros." I laugh as Christian ushers me out of her office.

"I like her." I say to Christian as we make our way to the elevator. "She's got spunk."

We don't tour the entire building, just some of the important ones and ones he thought I would enjoy. I felt like I was an animal in a zoo. Everyone was looking at us but Christian held my hand the entire time which calmed me a bit.

Now we're in the car headed back home. I can't wait to just soak in a bath and go back to sleep.

* * *

 **Hope everyone is having a great holiday! Thanks for reading!** ** _Please review, comment, ask questions, etc._**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Still dealing with getting used to major schedule change so updates will be sparse for a while. Props for this chapter go to .9, a new reader who has been reviewing and giving me inspiration all day.**

 **—** **-**

 **Tuesday, August 17**

 **7:15am**

 **Christian POV**

"Ana.." I gently try to wake her; she turns her face the other way.

"Ana, baby." this time she groans.

"Ana. I know you're tired but you have to eat something." I say lightly stroking her face. When we got home yesterday I realize how worn out she seemed. While I went to brief with Taylor for a few minutes, Ana went for a bath and by the time I came in the bathroom she was already dosing off. I brought her a light dinner in bed and once she ate, she fell asleep immediately.

"Go away." she grumbles.

"But I have french toast sticks." I try to goad her.

She opens on eye, looks at me, and smirks. "With syrup?"

"Mmhmm, butter syrup."

Her smirk grows in to a full blown smile.

"Okay, you got me, I'm up. Let me go freshen up." She gets up and groggily rushes to the bathroom.

She comes back out and gives me a faint smile but it's still really obvious that she's exhausted.

"Tired?" I ask putting the tray between us once she's settled in a comfortable position.

"Yeah, I think I may have overdone it yesterday." She smiles sadly, "I just kind of wished things would go back to normal but I see they won't." She says and then starts to dip her French toast.

"We'll make a new normal." I smile to to to comfort her. She nods her head so I hope that means that it worked.

"So, what's on your agenda today?" She asks me.

"A day mostly full of meetings, as usual."

"Anything new going on?"

"No, right now, Ros is looking at some new companies she thinks might be a good investment. She said she would get back to me about whatever she found at the end of the week."

"How do you know what would be a good investment?" She asks genuinely curious while pushing around a piece of French toast on the plate.

"Well, first you have to start with the books and financials of the company. You look at how the company is currently doing in relation to their industry, then you determine if you can do anything financially to help aid them. Then, you start to look at the actual company; the employees, owner, and people like that. GEH has had to do a few hostile takeovers in the past where someone didn't like that we were taking the company over and made the process difficult so if we can, we try to avoid companies like that. Once we get the financials and the company, we can try to start to determine whether we just want to flip it or keep it. That usually depends on if we need the company or not. For example, a few months ago we took over a media company and the PR team now uses them to help run the department and manage our online presence."

"Wow. A lot goes in to all that. Are you sure that it's okay with just Ros?"

"I'm sure baby. Ros and I have been doing this for a long time and although it is a lot to think about now it just comes like second nature."

"That's impressive. I don't know how much help I could be but if you need me to do anything I'd love to help out. I don't know how much longer I can just lay around doing nothing."

"You are not doing nothing, you are healing and getting better and that's all the job you need. Besides, between the two of us, we have more money than we could ever spend."

"I suppose you're right but I would still like to find something to do."

"Well, if anything comes up at GEH, I'll let you know okay?" I say gathering up the remnants of our meal. I think I did most of the eating as I noticed Ana pushing food around quite a bit. I go put the dishes in the kitchen and come back in the room to gather my things to get ready to leave. "What are your plans for today?"

"The way I'm feeling? Sleep for about 20 years."

"If you slept that long I'd miss you too much." I gently kiss her.

"That's sweet. Do you have any lunch plans?"

"Not that I know of."

"I was thinking of cooking something. Any preference?"

"Whatever you make I'm sure will be fantastic. I'll make sure to block it out with Andrea."

"Okay. Have a good day at work. I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

 **10:00am**

 **Anastasia POV**

After going back to sleep for a few extra hours, I decided to finally get up and try to get some energy. I took a shower and am now looking in the mirror. I still look completely different than I did just three months ago before I went to the hospital. My skin is pale but now that I can go outside as long as I'm careful and use protection, I should be able to get some color hair everywhere is still a very thin layer; Dr. Hamburg said that cytarabine does often cause hair loss but that it is less severe with the dosage I'm currently on so I might start to see my hair growing back in a few weeks.. But for now I'll just go with the routine that I have made: moisturizer, sunscreen, eyebrows, foundation, tinted lip balm, light eyeshadow, eyelashes, mascara, powder, wig cap, wig.

I thought about the routine a lot and practiced it when I was still in the hospital so I have managed to get the time to about 30 minutes.

Its in the mid 70s today but it is raining so I settle on a professional looking gray dress with tan low heels and a tan blazer.

I didn't really have an appetite this morning and I still don't so I've decided to keep lunch on the light side so I make a quinoa chicken salad.

I get everything packed and ready to go and by the time I get to the elevator one of the security men materializes out of no where.

"Sorry, I forgot."

"No worries ma'am."

"I'm sorry, I don't recall your name."

"Sawyer."

"Is that your first name?"

"No ma'am. Luke Sawyer."

"Well, Luke, call me Ana."

"I don't really think that's a good idea ma'am." He fidgets.

"My husband may be used to things like.. this but I'm not. And I'm only 23 so please." I beg with him. "At least when we're alone. I'm guessing your assigned to me from now on." He doesn't say anything so I turn back around and look at the door. Christian lives so differently than I'm used to and I think it's going to be hard adjusting to all these changes in my life. I'll talk to him later tonight.

The drive to Grey house is in silence but once we pull up, he turns around. "Only when its just us. Okay, Ana." Taylor opens the door.

"Thank you, Sawyer." I say because I know Taylor is in earshot now. I smile at Luke one last time and I see a ghost smile back.

Taylor escorts me again to the elevator but stays on the bottom floor.

I walk up to Andrea's desk to greet her but someone else is in her seat. My memory is still a little shot from the chemo brain and my general forgetfulness but one thing I am good at is remembering faces, and I don't remember hers. I'm about to ask who she is but she rudey beats me to it.

"Who are you? You can't be up here."

"Uh, excuse me but I'-"

"You're not on anyones list. I'm calling security." she smirks at me.

For a second I just stand surprised at her demeanor towards me. I don't say anything more and just walk right in to Christian's office as quietly as I can but of course the crazy blonde is yelling after me which draws Christian's attention away from his computer screen. At first he looks angry but his eyes land on mine and his demeanor changes to happy.

He rounds his desk just as the crazy blonde reaches the threshold to the door.

"I'm sorry sir. I'll escort her out." she says breathily in a flustered tone and readily heating cheeks.

I close the distance between Christian and I. He tilts my chin up and gives me a simple but firm kiss on the lips. I turn around and smile smugly at crazy blonde who looks like her dog just died.

"I'm so sorry Mr. and Mrs. Grey." Andrea says rushing in to the room. "I'll take care of her. Olivia, come."

"Thank you Andrea." I say politely. "I made lunch."

* * *

 **Pins are up!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Still Tuesday, August 17th**

 **Christian POV**

"What was that all about?"

"That woman was being rude so I kind of just ignored her and came in but she followed me."

I pinch the bridge of my nose knowing Olivia has made another blunder. "Yes, Olivia is the new intern and doest seem to realize how things work around here. Andrea will take care of her."

"Is she going to get fired?" She says frowning.

"I don't know. Andrea vouched for her and I trust her so I put her in charge of Olivia."

"Oh. Well, I hope she doesn't get fired. I don't think she was here yesterday, right?"

"No, but I sent out a memo to all employees and she obvi-" I say getting riled up before Ana interrupts me probably sensing my frustration.

"Anyway, I made lunch. I don't really have an appetite today so I made something light but I made plenty." She smiles while holding up the bag she brought with her.

"What did you make?" I ask.

"It's a quinoa chicken salad. It has oranges in it with a citrus dressing. The recipe called for avocados but I'm not a big fan of them." She makes making a face.

"Sounds delicious. Let's go."

"Go where?"

"You'll see." I move the necessary objects and punch in the keypad combination. The wall moves to allow us to get in to the other room.

"Wow."

"When doing the renovations of the building, I knew I was going to be here a lot and decided to build this room. It's also a panic room so only Andrea, Barney, Welch, Taylor, Ros, my family - and now you, know about it."

"I feel special."

"You should because you are." I beam proudly at her before giving her a kiss.

We eat lunch with comfortable chit-chat, mostly me answering questions about how my day has been so far. She tells me that she mostly slept the entire time before waking up to make lunch and come here. I want to ask her more but I understand how hard it must be for people to be constantly asking her 'is she okay'.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Ana asks me. I guess I was more deeply in thought than I thought.

"Nothing." I smile trying to shake it off but my ever-so-observant wife doesn't believe me. She raises her eyebrow at me. "I'm just thinking about you."

She comes to sit next to me on the loveseat and rests her head on my shoulder taking my hands in hers. I don't know how she knows it but this is exactly the reassurance I needed.

"I'm right here." she says looking at me. I kiss her to lock in on that notion. The kiss starts out slow like usual but heats up quickly. I go to pull away but she moans in protest and puts her hands in my hair pulling me closer, turning me on even more and I push her back gently so I'm laying over her.

"Mr. Grey, your one o'clock was just checked in to the building." Andrea's voice comes through breaking the cloud of lust in the room.

"Do you have to go to that meeting?" She asks biting her lip sensually.

"Unfortunately, I do. It's a conference call with the—"

"You don't need to explain it to me. I'm not the only one that acquires the attention of _the_ Christian Grey.

"No but you are the one that matters the most."

 ** _Author's Note:_**

 ** _I know, I know - it's been a fortnight, forever-and-a-day and then some since I've updated any of my stories and this chapter is painfully short. Honestly, life got hard and I didn't have the time nor the right frame of mind(depression, anxiety, etc.) to write. I do have one final semester and another cross country move to prepare for but I really miss writing and interacting with all of you and I will make sure to have a chapter out a week._**

 ** _That being said, I know this chapter is short and sucky but I will be adding more to it in a few days. I just wanted to get something out there._**

 ** _Much love_**

 ** _-Ari_**


	9. Just an Update

Hello All!

Firstly, thank you for checking in and your well wishes throughout my extended hiatus from writing; I have seen them all and I will get back to all of you that I can when I get the time.

I have been thinking a lot about this story lately and I can't wait to get back to writing. Hopefully I'll have something up in the next couple of weeks or so - I would really appreciate any suggestions for the next chapter or the story in general.

Write soon,

-Ari


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